"Good grief, why can’t physics, experience and common sense solve the 9mm vs. the .40 Smith debate?"
Very simply because 9mm people insist on consoling themselves that there little bullet is just as good as a big bullet. As if the answer were not obvious, they want their cake and eat it too: low recoil, hi capacity AND all the damage to the target. Gee, wouldn't it be nice to have the best of all worlds, but life does not work that way.
Everything is a trade off and a compromise and nothing comes for free. If you want more hitting power, you are going to have to deal with the recoil and larger, more powerful cartridge.
All I know is that when I pull a gun to save my life (I have been there), I want the biggest, baddest mo-fo gun possible, not the easiest/cheapest one to shoot. For me it is a matter of having the best I can have, the one that makes the biggest holes (because I shoot just as well with all the calibers discussed) when my arss is on the line.
You hear plenty of stories about people shooting someone dozens of times with a 9mm and they don't go down....
how often do you hear that story about the .45?
The 9mm fans spend all their time defending their round because it needs defense...it has reason to make people wary of it due to it's many failures in real shootings. You don't hear .45 fans defending their round because there is nothing to defend: it just works, and always has.
The point is, If the size of the hole does not matter, then we should all be carry .22 Magnums, which have plenty of penetration, high capacity and low recoil. The fact is, the size DOES matter, and that is why people pick the 9mm over the .32 or .22. So, why not take it a step further, if one can handle the gun, and carrying an even bigger gun? (.40 caliber in this case)
.40's are the best compromise for people with a variety of hand sizes. They fit in a smaller gun and more people can get their hand around the double stack .40's. If it weren't for the size of the gun, I think more .40 fans would just go .45.
"Let's not forget most of the SWAT uses MP5 chambered for 9mm."
First of all, the longer barrel gives it more the ballistics of a .357 magnum than a 9mm pistol. Also, in three or four shot bursts, the 9mm out of that barrel does quite a number. Kinda like 00 buckshot with hollowpoints.
Back to the topic:
Bigger holes mean quicker bleeding no matter where your placement is. Placement being equal, the larger hole wins. In worst case scenarios, even the .45 hardball makes a bigger hole than many 9mm hollowpoints in the real world (because hollowpoints do not perform in real life like they do in gelatin!!!).
If you can't place well with anything larger than a 9mm then stick with it or practice more.
I shoot a bigger caliber AND I hit what I aim at very quickly. How come so many have to shoot a 9mm just so they can hit something?
As you can see, this argument will not be settled here
(Remember everyone, we are on the same side and just debating a silly issue, so let's keep this cool and not get personal)
Ps- "I'm still stunned that LA resident Sharon Stone turned in her guns!"
She has armed body guards, and she is the kind of idiot that could not handle a gun properly anyway. So, it was an easy decision for her. For us mere mortals who live in real neighborhoods without personl bodyguards....well, our options are limited.